Liberation
by Rose Thorne
Summary: Zelgadis, after months trapped by a sorceress, is rescued by the most unlikely of people. Xellos/Zelgadis


**Liberation**

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: _Slayers_ is owned by a bunch of folks who aren't me. I'm borrowing them for my perverse pleasure, much as Xellos borrows emotions for his.

* * *

It had been embarrassing enough to be locked in a tower by an evil witch. Zelgadis had underestimated her completely, and the hag-sorceress had evidently decided to keep him as some sort of pet after she'd bested him. She had indicated that she intended to leave him there until the fight was out of him and he'd be useful as a servant.

What she wanted, he knew, was a slave, and from the lewd and disturbing way she had looked at him, he was more than disgusted by the idea of what that might entail.

The problem was, after several months of being cooped up and unable to escape—the tower's walls were made of orihalcon, which also essentially sealed his magic, and there weren't any windows for him to even tell how many months it had been—reliant on the hag occasionally bringing food and drink, he was reaching the point where that was sounding like a good deal.

However long it had been, it wasn't like anyone had found him. They probably couldn't, with the orihalcon between him and the outside world, probably dulling any location spells. If he hadn't been able to best her, his only hope was Lina Inverse. But if she couldn't find him, he was trapped.

It looked very much like he didn't have a choice if he wanted to get out of the tower.

Zelgadis was surprised, therefore, to wake to find Xellos floating over him, looking at him with what, on a real human, might be considered puzzled concern. He scrambled off the bed, having enough sense not to trust Xellos' intentions even if he was relieved to see another, technically, living creature after so long alone.

"Oh, my. I didn't think you were the damsel in distress type, Zelgadis-san!" Zel bristled, but the Mazoku continued, not giving him a chance to retort. "And yet here you are, locked in a tower by an evil witch. It's almost like one of those ridiculous fairy tales!"

"If she captured you, too, I guess hoping for Lina's a bust." He couldn't imagine that orihalcon did anything pleasant to Mazoku, who seemed to practically breathe magic, but he realized belatedly that with the bastard floating in mid-air that was likely a misconception.

Xellos only smiled at the idea, clearly preferring to mock his situation. "Of course, this evil witch seems to want something more than just a hostage. Are you the pretty princess in the tower, then?"

Zel sighed, what little anger he'd been able to muster collapsing as he realized that he was, essentially, exactly that. "What do you want, Xellos? Did you just come here to mock me?"

He wanted to hope, as embarrassing as it was—even more so than being locked in a tower in the first place—that Xellos was here to help him out, but that was ludicrous. As a Mazoku, Xellos was likely only here to enjoy his helplessness and depression for his own twisted amusement.

He certainly wasn't encouraged when a thoughtful smile spread across the faux priest's face.

"Well, I'm not quite sure myself. After all, I could enjoy this even more from a distance." Xellos' smile turned slightly embarrassed. "I suppose I was intrigued by your predicament."

Zelgadis huffed, irritated. "So you want me to tell you how I got locked in here?" He fully intended to tell the bastard it was a secret.

The Mazoku shook his head. "Certainly not. I watched your battle with the sorceress. It was rather pathetic."

Zel winced a bit at that, even though he knew it was true and had berated himself quite enough over it. "So, what, you just came to rub it in?"

"I suspect you've done that quite enough on your own." Xellos looked strangely uncertain. "It is… I suppose a bit unnerving. To see you so helpless, I mean. For a mortal you have quite a bit of strength. I rather expected you to have gotten out of this situation by now."

"How nice of you to watch all this time," he muttered, sitting down heavily on one of the chairs in his small cell. Plush like everything else; the sorceress clearly wanted him to be comfortable. Physically, anyway.

"Actually, I had duty to attend to. I thought I'd see how you'd fared here." The Mazoku came closer, but Zel didn't bother to move. "I didn't imagine you would still be here, let alone that you would have given up."

If Xellos expected him to be grateful to him for showing up, or to beg, he had another think coming. He still had pride left. Not much, but enough to be humiliated at the thought of being rescued like this, by him.

"What the hell do you care?"

Xellos' hand was suddenly on his face, his nose a mere inch from Zel's. "Interesting question. I'm afraid the answer seems to be a secret, even from me."

He didn't have time to react before the Mazoku's lips were on his, gentle and soft against his stone skin. It didn't feel like they were stone anymore, not with how Xellos' hand felt against his cheek, how his lips seemed to sear Zel's. He tasted of magic, something the chimera hadn't felt since his capture. Something inside him seemed to melt away, and he found himself leaning into it, wanting more.

Zelgadis didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until Xellos broke the kiss and his touch was gone.

When he opened them, he found himself alone, and surrounded by trees. The tower was nowhere to be seen, and he was free.

But as Zelgadis raised a hand to his lips to find them stone once more, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd been captured in a different way.

At least this way felt better than the other.

* * *

Turned out more wistful than like crack. I was expecting crack, but I guess this works. For the Slayers Kinkfest on the LJ community SlayersAdult.

Prompt: Xellos/Zelgadis: fighting against nature, romantic gestures - It was embarrassing enough being locked up in a tower by an evil witch. It was even more so to have Xellos rescue him.


End file.
